IntroductionWhen
it came time to finally design and implement my new reference home
theater, there were two things I knew I had to have. First was the
ability to easily integrate and audition various components of all
types without costly professional installation fees or outside
programming. Second was for my reference system to feature only in-wall
speakers. I have been a fan of in-walls (and on-walls, for that matter)
for a long time now and, as technology has progressed, so has the
quality of their sound. While nearly every speaker manufacturer has
some sort of in-wall or on-wall line of products, finding ones that are
truly reference grade can be a bit more daunting. I looked high and low
during my search and compiled a list of potential candidates that
would, I hoped, fit my needs. I met with and/or demoed the top
offerings from RBH, Paradigm, Definitive, PSB and Meridian. While RBH,
Paradigm, PSB and Definitive all make superb in-wall speakers, all of
which I’d be more than happy to call my own, for one reason or another,
they simply were not going to work in my room. Ultimately, after very
careful listening and consideration, I decided on Meridian’s new 300
Series in-wall loudspeakers. What follows is not only my review of
Meridian’s top in-wall offerings, but also a breakdown of the
construction needed to welcome them into my home. Was it worth it?
Let’s find out.

I was first introduced to the 300 Series in-walls at
the CEDIA trade show in Denver in the fall of 2006. What I saw and
heard, despite the horrible conditions usually found at most trade
shows, put Meridian on my short list of must-have in-walls to own.
Shortly after CEDIA, I bought a new home and decided that, during my
somewhat massive renovation, I was going to transform the main living
room into my reference theater. The catch was that I didn’t want guests
to know they were sitting in a home theater until the lights went down
and the show began. As I quickly learned the hard way, that level of
stealth isn’t easy to achieve, nor is it cheap. I ended up gutting my
new living room down to the studs, as well as building a whole new wall
to house the rear speakers and the equipment rack. While construction
raged on, I placed a call to Meridian and arranged for a full 5.1
in-wall system to be delivered to the house. What arrived was more than
I expected.

Meridian
sent me their rough in kits first, which consisted of large metal
brackets for two 350 Series speakers and three 330 Series speakers.
Meridian also sent me a bracket for their in-wall subwoofer, the 320;
however, due to engineering refinements at the factory, the in-wall sub
has yet to arrive. The entire 300 Series line of speakers is meant for
new constructions, or at least homes undergoing major renovations, as
you will have to tear your wall or room down to the studs in order to
install them. The mounting brackets for the 350s are roughly 49 inches
tall by 11 inches wide and just a hair under four inches deep. The
brackets for the remaining 330s share the same width and depth as the
350s, but are 34 inches tall. I didn’t have a scale on hand to weigh
them; needless to say, they were heavier than some floor-standing
speakers I’ve come across. Also, the mounting brackets are sold
separately and cost $400 each for the 350s and $350 each for the 330s.
With my living room stripped down to bare wood, I mounted the brackets
between the studs via their attached metal wings and a box of wood
screws. Once the brackets were in place and speaker wire was run
through the center of each bracket, I told the contractors to go ahead
and close up the walls. This was something I shouldn’t have done
without test-mounting the actual speakers first, but more on that
later.

As construction continued, I took a moment to
inspect the various speakers in the Meridian 300 Series line-up. The
300 Series can take one of two forms, the first being powered with
Meridian’s own built-in amplifiers (which is what Meridian recommends)
and the second being passive. The 5.1 surround sound set-up I requested
was passive, since I would need to be able to power the speakers with a
variety of amplifiers for review purposes. I’ve only heard the powered
versions at shows and I can say, even in the face of most shows’
lackluster acoustic qualities, that the powered versions are killer and
well worth the slight bump in price. Physically, there is little to no
difference between the powered and passive 300 Series speakers.

The
P350s are the largest of the 300 Series speakers; I chose these as my
left and right mains. They measure 49 inches tall by 11 inches wide and
a little over four inches deep. The P330s, which I used for my center
and rear speakers, have the same dimensions as the P350s, with the
exception of their height, which is 34 inches tall instead of 49.
Again, I didn’t have a scale on hand, but the speakers themselves are
substantial in weight, due largely to their enclosed design. The entire
300 Series features an all-metal enclosure, insuring that the sound
doesn’t radiate or escape behind your walls, as well as providing
additional fire safety in the event of a tragedy. The P350s retail for
$4,250 each in their passive form, while the P330s are $2,695 each.
However, if you prefer powered speakers, expect to pay a bit more.
Also, the 300 Series come in either an in-wall or flush mount
configuration. The in-wall 300s have a removable and paintable grille,
while the flush-mount speakers ship without a grille because they are
specifically designed to be mounted behind custom fabric walls or
perforated screens. The in-wall speakers do cost a bit extra, but you
won’t have the costly fabric wall to contend with. My 300 Series system
was going to be mounted behind a fabric wall, so I went with the
flush-mount option, bringing my entire system total, including the
mounting brackets, to just under $19,000. While 19 grand is a lot of
money, you have to consider the 300 Series’ competition, including
floor-standing speakers, which can retail for as much as $25,000 or
more for a single pair. Getting a 5.1 speaker system from a
manufacturer as reputable as Meridian for under the $20,000 mark is
actually quite impressive in terms of absolute reference loudspeakers.

As for the speakers themselves, the P350s are a two-way in-wall speaker
with dual six-and-a-half-inch metal-coned bass/midrange drivers mounted
above and below the wide-dispersion ribbon tweeter. The three drivers
are complimented by two eight-inch Auxiliary Bass Radiator (or ABR)
drivers, mounted at the top and bottom of the speaker. These make the
P350 look more like a three-way design than a two-way one. The P350 has
an impedance of four ohms and is suitable for a wide range of
amplifiers, up to 300 watts. At the time of this review, no other data,
including frequency response, was made available for any of the 300
Series speakers. The P330s, like the P350s, are a two-way design with a
single six-and-a-half-inch metal coned bass/midrange driver mounted
below the same ribbon tweeter and above the eight-inch ABR’s driver.
The P330 has a nominal impedance of eight ohms and is suitable for a
variety of amplifiers up to 200 watts. I should also point out that all
of the passive models in the 300 Series are bi-wireable only via their
robust, gold-plated binding posts.

Set-upSince
my reference system was being designed and built on a strict budget, I
didn’t have the luxury of utilizing the good folks over at Simply Home
Entertainment’s expertise when it came time to install the 300 Series
in-walls. If you’re one of the lucky few who has the ways and means to
welcome Meridian’s 300 Series speakers into your home, you’re going to
want them professionally installed. While they can be done DIY style,
having done it myself, I do not recommend it. Once the mounting
brackets were installed and the new drywall set over the top, it was
time to wire and install the speakers. First off, I had to create
bridging straps, since I would not be bi-wiring the 300s. Once that was
complete, I wired each speaker with the already installed XLO Reference
in-wall speaker cable, with the help of my contractor and my
girlfriend. According to the instructions, the speakers should slide
into their brackets with ease and, four hex screws later, you’re done.
That is, of course, if your wall cavity is deep enough. You see, the
brackets fit inside my walls just fine and left about a half inch or so
between them and the outer stucco of my exterior wall. The speakers
themselves are deeper than the brackets and an installer would be more
aware of this. After I gutted my entire main level, I realized that the
speakers were not going to fit in my house. It took about 24 hours for
me to calm down and resume breathing. The installation had already cost
me nearly $10,000; there were other factors besides just the
installation of the speakers that added to the costs, but still,
$10,000 and no sound. My contractor saved the day by noticing that my
exterior stucco was exceptionally thick. After a quick check with local
building codes and such, he was able to notch out a quarter inch, which
was just enough to squeeze the speakers into their brackets without
actually rubbing them against the wall. Once in their brackets,
securing the screws was easy enough and the rest of the install went on
without incident. While my fabric wall was being installed, I wired the
Meridian in-walls to my reference rig, which consisted of my Mark
Levinson No. 433 powering the front left, right and center speakers, my
Outlaw 7200 amp for the rears, a Meridian G68 surround sound
controller, a Meridian G98 transport and, last but not least, my Sony
Blu-ray and Toshiba HD DVD players. I ran a few quick tests and EQ’d
the entire system using the G68’s internal room correction software,
and away I went.

From the first rough sketch of my new
reference room to completion, including all wiring, lighting and
speakers took 15 days. If there is one thing I’ve learned from this
particular review, it’s the sheer value of a custom installer. I
honestly don’t care about the added costs; it is absolutely worth it,
for I will never do this type of design and installation myself again.

Movies And TelevisionI
kicked things off with a little two-channel demo starting with the
Harry Connick Jr. album Star Turtle (Sony). Star Turtle is one of my
all-time favorite Harry Connick Jr. albums, largely because of its
lightheartedness and overall upbeat vibe, which compared to some of his
previous love-song-only albums, comes as a breath of fresh air. On the
track “Hear Me in the Harmony,” the 300s were quite impressive right
off the bat. For starters, in stereo, without the aid of a subwoofer,
the P350s are capable of generating a very big yet extremely nimble
sound from top to bottom. The bass was surprisingly deep and very taut,
with tremendous resolution. While the track would’ve benefited from a
sub, what the P350s were able to shell out was quite impressive,
especially given the speakers’ overall dimensions, placement and lack
of a real bass driver. These are two-way speakers, remember. The
midrange was pure and natural-sounding, especially throughout the
vocals, with surprising extension front to back within the soundstage.
Speaking of soundstage, the P350s not only had one, but it was as
defined and spacious as that of any floor-standing speakers in the
Meridian’s class. While this all sounds great, and it is, the P350’s
greatest attribute is its ribbon tweeter. My long-standing reference
when it comes to tweeters and high-frequency reproduction has always
been the mighty Magnepan 3.6. I’ve held the 3.6 in such high regard for
so long that it was a bit unnerving to realize that, while
exceptionally good, the 3.6’s ribbon tweeter is bested handily by the
ribbon tweeters inside the Meridian 300 Series speakers. While the 300s
lacked that last ounce of extension and air you’ll get from the 3.6s,
their sheer purity, speed, musicality and ease are by far the best I’ve
ever heard. I couldn’t get them to act up or fizzle; they just sing
with such effortless abandon, it sent shivers down my spine.

I
decided to dispense with the pleasantries, shifted gears to something a
bit more funky and threw in some Dynamite from Jamiroquai (Sony). On
the track “Feels Just Like It Should,” I went ahead and set my Meridian
G68 to Trifield, which is Meridian’s own multi-channel DSP for two
channel-recorded music. I love Trifield and find that because of it, I
do very little two-channel listening anymore. The track opens with a
very synthesized bass line that gives way to a more traditional
three-piece trap set. The wavy bass notes were very well-defined and
had a good sense of rhythm and snap. The bass continued throughout the
song and, one by one, other musical elements began to pile on. The 300
Series didn’t break their already stellar composure, keeping each
individual element free from the next, literally overwhelming my room
with sound. It was like an aural O.D. and I wanted more. The various
laser sounds shot through the soundstage from left to right, right to
left and front to back, as though the boundaries of my room itself were
of little importance. Once again, the high frequencies were the 300s’
party piece, lending their magic to nearly every element of the music,
giving it that last ounce of snap and sparkle. Even when pushed to the
ragged edge, the 300s showed no signs of stress. I simply couldn’t
fluster these speakers.

I
switched over from music demos and popped in the recently released
Matrix Trilogy on HD DVD (Warner Home Video). I spun up the final
chapter of the trilogy, Matrix Revolutions, and skipped ahead to the
scene just before the climatic battle where Neo (Keanu Reeves) journeys
to the Machine City. The metal on metal sound of literally hundreds
upon hundreds of robots that make up the “face” was chilling and even a
bit startling through the Meridian 300s. Never before, and I’ve seen
this film many times, have I been able to clearly and easily define the
various robotic sounds, such as drills, clamps, springs, etc., amid the
chaos. Dynamically, both in the micro and macro realm, the Meridian
300s have few rivals, even fewer when you shorten that list to in-walls
only. When the “face” spoke, the various layers of its deep voice were
clearly present and existed independent of one another, spreading
boldly front to back within the soundstage. Neo’s own vocals, while in
stark contrast to his surroundings, were not upstaged and sounded
incredibly natural with terrific presence. The 300s really do paint a
vivid aural canvas and draw you into whatever you’re listening to, be
it music or movies, and do it more convincingly than the competition
because of the fact that they are hidden from view. Once jacked into
the Matrix, the final battle between Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) and Neo
was absolutely stunning. The sound of the rain alone was worth the
price of admission. It sounded literally wet, falling fell from every
corner of my room and seemingly beyond. The tweeter never failed to
amaze as it easily distinguished not only between the various droplets
of water, but also the surfaces they were hitting. The swooshing sounds
of Neo and Agent Smith’s movements were as distinct as the characters
themselves, likewise when fist and foot finally did meet flesh. The
resolving prowess of the 300s was in full affect when the characters
spoke, allowing them to remain remarkably intelligible, even in the
face of driving rain and crashing thunder.

I
ended my evaluation with Mission: Impossible 3 (Paramount Home
Entertainment) on Blu-ray disc. The opening scene where Tom Cruise is
being interrogated/tortured by Phillip Seymour Hoffman was
bone-chilling. The sizzling sounds that accompanied the darkness were
jarring, raw and loaded with painful detail. The ribbon tweeters
injected a greater sense of sizzle to the sound that made it all the
more difficult to sit through, which is a good thing and something
you’re bound to miss with lesser, more traditional dome tweeters. The
dialogue was very crisp and stood out in stark contrast to the ambient
noise of the room, which only added to the tension. Speaking of ambient
room tones, all too often, lesser speakers present these subtle cues
more or less as noise, whereas through the 300 Series in-walls, I could
clearly hear not only the characters’ voices reverberating off the
metallic walls, but also the sounds of scattered machinery, some of
which had to have been located in other rooms. The surround sound
presentation throughout the film was as balanced and seamless as I’ve
heard at any price. When the action kicked into high gear, especially
during the bridge sequence, the 300s opened up the taps and let loose
the fury. The screaming sounds of the drone aircraft were so vividly
real, a few of my guests actually flinched as it moved from the back of
my room to the front. The explosions and gunfire didn’t tax the mighty
in-walls even when played back at true cinema-like levels.

Overall, be it music or movies, or even badly recorded MP3s, for that
matter, the Meridian 300 Series in-wall speakers are just
awe-inspiring. They are extremely musical, detailed yet easy on both
the ears and on source material. They are among the most
natural-sounding speakers I’ve heard, regardless of make or price, and
present everything dealt to them with equal fervor.

The DownsideThe
Meridian 300 Series in-wall speakers are not going to be for everyone,
especially when it comes to the larger P350s. You’re going to need a
fair amount of space for the P350s to be able to work their magic, due
to their line array configuration. However, the P330s are easier to
integrate and don’t quite require the room size the P350s do. They
still sound amazing, they just won’t play as deep.

The
300s are physically deep, or at least deeper, in terms of space needed
inside your walls, so careful measurements need to be taken prior to
purchase to ensure you’ll be able to actually install them. Measure
twice, cut once, as my grandfather always said.

You are going to want your Meridian dealer or custom installer to
install the 300 Series in-walls in your home. Having done the project
myself, I will urge you not attempt to take on this project on your
own, unless you are really into it. The slight bump in cost you’ll
encounter by hiring a custom installer is nothing compared to the costs
you may incur should you take the project on yourself and forget
something, or worse, mess something up.

Lastly, I would’ve liked to see mounting brackets included or at least
included in the total price of the speakers themselves. Since the 300
Series in-wall speakers are intended for new construction or retrofit
projects, simply including the brackets would potentially eliminate any
confusion both financially and during construction. If you’re not
willing to tear down walls, Meridian does offer the 300 Series in an
on-wall configuration as well.

Conclusion
With a complete package price hovering around $19,000 minus
installation and construction costs, the Meridian 300 Series in-wall
speakers are not cheap by any means. However, they offer truly
reference grade audio performance that rivals even the most established
and elite floor-standing speakers out there and do so without taking up
an inch of living space. The ribbon tweeter is an absolute revelation
and the overall tonality and purity of the 300 Series sound is
staggering, considering their in-wall pedigree. They image like champs,
are dynamic as hell, and are remarkably easy to drive, which could be a
very good thing on your budget when the time comes. Careful planning
and professional installation is mandatory, but if you take the
necessary steps and do your homework, the Meridian 300 Series speakers
will reward you in spades. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,
in-wall speakers are the future for many of us as we develop our
systems. As I spend my nights basking in the glory of the Meridian 300
Series in-walls, I’m confident that I’ve not only seen the promised
land, but have arrived there. My hat is off to Meridian and their 300
Series in-walls; they are truly amazing and I’m proud to not only have
them in my home but to call them my reference loudspeakers.